With the Purple Line project in peril as costs mount due to ongoing delays, attorneys for Maryland are trying to speed up the appeals process in federal court.
On Monday, attorneys representing the state requested the Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to expedite the briefing schedule for the state’s appeal of a U.S. district judge’s order that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) conduct a new environmental study for the light-rail project.
D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon vacated the project’s federal approval and ordered the study after siding with the plaintiffs in the case—two Town of Chevy Chase residents and the Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail group—that Metro’s ridership decline and safety issues could impact ridership on the Purple Line. Leon also found that Maryland and the FTA failed to properly study how Metro’s issues would affect 16.2-mile light-rail line expected to run between Bethesda and New Carrollton in Prince George’s County. The state has signed a contract with a private partner to build and run the line, but construction has been delayed by Leon’s rulings in the lawsuit.
Click here to read the rest of the story written by Andrew Metcalf over at Bethesda Magazine